"Yep, the rumors are TRUE! We're coming back a little earlier this year... apply now!" Big Brother casting director Robyn Kass posted on her MySpace blog late last week.

While CBS has not responded to multiple messages seeking confirmation of Kass' statement, the network has begun accepting applications and announced dates and locations for a 15-city Big Brother 9 casting tour that will take place between November 17 and December 8.

The announcement of a casting tour presumably means that despite recent reports that the network was considering the option, Big Brother's strike-programming installment won't be a celebrity edition -- a long-rumored concept that CBS president and CEO Les Moonves first suggested in 2002, a year after the U.K. begun airing its annual Celebrity Big Brother installments in 2001.

Although the Big Brother 9 application available on CBS.com includes eligibility requirements, the document does not specify any of the tentative interview process and production schedule date ranges that the network's reality show applications typically include, presumably due to the uncertainty surrounding the strike.

The WGA's last strike occurred in 1988 and lasted 22 weeks.

The dates, locations and venues for Big Brother 9 open casting calls are: